TALE OF TAILS AND STRIPES

Pench, situated in the heart of India at Madhya Pradesh is a vast tiger reserve with a portion falling in Maharashtra and managed by them. Just about 100 kms north of Nagpur in Maharashtra it is easily accessible through a smooth national highway. The River Pench flows through the park. Mowgli, the real life famous wolf boy at Seoni village in Pench formed the backdrop of The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. Most children in India will remember the popular jingle of Mowgli serial in TV. Pench is also where the famous tigress Collarwali, which passed away recently birthed a number of cubs and lorded over the area royally. The total area is about 1,000 sq kms out of which 40% is core area.

The terrain is undulating with the Satpura hill range slopes. With the Pench river providing adequate water resources, it presents a perfect setting for wildlife, especially the tigers to thrive. The forest abounds with teak, Tendu, Mahua and Bael or wood apple trees providing enough flowers, leaves and fruits for the monkeys, deer and a host of birds.

Accommodation suiting a range of budgets is available. I was part of a group of naturalists and wildlife enthusiasts who stayed at Tiger N Woods resort last week. Easy on the pocket and set amidst a forested area on the periphery of the park with wooden Machans it was close to the Turia gate from which one had to enter the sanctuary core area.

SERENE REFLECTION

The best time to spot tigers, though not ideal given the scorching heat of Central India, is peak summer when all the big cats come out of hiding to slake their thirst in waterholes. Given the favourable odds, we had booked nine safaris in all – both early mornings and evenings- in open Maruti Gyspy jeeps. One had to jump like a scalded cat on coming in contact with the hand rails of the jeep in the afternoon safaris. With mercury in the mid 40 degrees centigrade, afternoon outings were hell on earth. As it goes, no pain, no gain.

The group had 28 members and 24 of them were treated with a number of sightings of tigers and tigresses with cubs as well as leopard darshans. Four of us in one jeep had the distinction of just seeing some vague stripes under a rock about a kilometre away on one occasion and the underbelly and a portion of a tiger tail on another.

I had written to my other friends who were at the same time freaking out at Tadoba Tiger reserve in Maharashtra that I planned to get back home and piece together the parts of the tigers seen and photoshop a full one, just to have bragging rights!. Even as we were giving up hopes on seeing a full tiger, maybe on the sixth safari, we viewed a sub-adult tigress lazing under the shade hidden from plain sight with tall grass, shrubs and twigs. There was a collective sigh whenever she moved her tail and just once did she get up momentarily to give a Papal like audience, resulting in some frenzied shrieks and crackle of camera clicks. Getting back to sleep the other way, no more chances were given despite all of us crowding for more than an hour in the scorching sun. At last, the sub-adult saved my back room processing!. That’s all about tigers.

LAZY TIGRESS UP

TIGRESS SETTLING DOWN TO SLEEP

The trigger happy finger mostly produced blurred images of grass and thickets with just two out of a few hundred snaps resulting in some view of the majestic cat.

The hard core naturalists that the foursome of us were, we just brushed aside the lack of tiger sightings as non-events and savoured the rich diversity of the landscape. At least that is the picture we had to present, vicariously enjoying the tiger and leopard sightings of others.

The usual suspects on the edges of the core zone were there in plenty like langurs at their pranking best and peacocks in full flow, shimmering and cavorting. Summer is the mating season for spotted deer and peacocks.

LANGUR WITH BABY

FRIENDS HUGGING

The loving kiss and warm embrace of the langurs was touching.

PEACOCK DANCE

PEACOCK IN FULL FLOW

The brilliant colours of the Jungle Fowl and the Painted Spur Fowl added sparkle to the place.

JUNGLE FOWL IN COLOURFUL PLUMAGE

It was soon clear that Pench was much more than tigers. A variety of antlers and antelopes like Nilgai grazed in groups. We chanced upon a male Sambar deer devouring a full wood apple known locally as Bael. It was also interesting to see a juvenile Sambar deer with albino affliction. This one has become famous among the locals and the vernacular press in the area.

SAMBAR MALE EATING WOOD APPLE/BAEL

JUVENILE SAMBAR WITH ALBINO

There was a shocking scene when my camera captured a Brahminy Starling carrying a piece of plastic in its beak, may be to build its nest. It was deeply disturbing to see plastic in the core jungle area and reminded the need to vigorously protect the environment from degradation.

BRAHMINI STARLING WITH PLASTIC IN BEAK

Bird life was in abundance along with a variety of owls at every twist and turn.

INDIAN ROLLER IN IRIDESCENT BLUES

BLACK HEADED ORIOLE

GOLDEN ORIOLE

INDIAN PITTA

RED NAPED IBIS

YELLOW FOOTED GREEN PIGEON

COUCAL

PAINTED SPUR FOWL

ORANGE HEADED THRUSH

JUNGLE OWLET

SCOPS OWL

Peak summer meant that a whole host of animals were hovering around the waterholes dotting the park.

JUNGLE FOWL AT WATERHOLE

LANGUR SIPPING FRESH RAIN WATER

CHEETAL AT WATERHOLE

PEACOCK AND LANGUR SLAKING THIRST

There were other creatures in the ecosystem like the Monitor Lizard using its forked tongue to ferret out insects inside trees. Grey Mongoose was foraging on the ground and the Indian Jackal was running along our track. A Black naped Hare was caught bang in the middle of our trail and the bulky Gaur took its time to chew and cross our path.

MONITOR LIZARD

GREY MONGOOSE

INDIAN JACKAL

BLACK NAPED HARE

GAUR

There was no dearth of woodpeckers and raptors.

FLAME BACKED WOODPECKER

GREY CAPPED PYGMY WOODPECKER

WHITE EYE BUZZARD

CRESTED SERPENT EAGLE

GREY HEADED FISH EAGLE

ORIENTAL HONEY BUZZARD

CHANGEABLE HAWK EAGLE

The tiger reserve has a gate on the Maharashtra side at Khursapar. We were unable to sight tigers there too but saw an Eurasian Thick Knee and a Nightjar, among others.

EURASIAN THICK KNEE

They say cats have nine lives and survive somehow. Whether it is true or not, we definitely had luck smile in our ninth safari on the last morning before departure. It was not a tigers day out, but a leopards day out. We had a sequence of events more thrilling than a climax scene of an action movie. But before that, the avid birders in my group were capturing the Scops Owl from different angles when our guide kept telling us there were warning signals from langurs indicating a leopard sighting. True to what he said, there was indeed a leopard which had drunk water and just then walked away. Even as we were brooding, there were again alarm signals. Our guide immediately guessed the route the leopard would take and strategically positioned the jeep. Soon after, a fully grown male leopard emerged. Peering intently before crossing the trail, it gave us a stare mid-way and walked away nonchalantly. It was a splendid sight at very close quarters, making our trip completely worthwhile. At least I have not seen the leopard so close in all my life.

LEOPARD LOOK BEFORE CROSSING

COAST CLEAR

CROSSING MAJESTICALLY

STRIDING CASUALLY ACROSS

There was more drama to follow. Still savouring the leopard watch, we encountered a pack of wild dogs known as Dholes. One has heard of their strength in unity and it was our extreme good fortune to see their aggression in action. They were playing around and one even tried pulling in vain the long tail of a langur which was perched on a low branch. As we were watching their activities including their daily ablutions, we were rushed for having a glimpse of a leopard under a rock.

DHOLE LOOKING FOR MISCHIEF

INDIAN WILD DOG/DHOLE JOB DONE

BADGERING LEOPARDESS

It took us a while to peer in the darkness of the cave to see the fully camouflaged leopard. Even as we intently kept looking at the hidden leopard there was dramatic action. The wild dogs which we had seen a while before ran up to the rocks near the cave and started barking and badgering the leopard. Within a blink of an eye, the leopard scampered up a tree and landed at a “V” at a height of about 30 feet, fully flustered and staring at the dogs below. It was such a swift sequence that nothing could be captured in the camera. The leopard stayed put above and waited for the wild dogs to move on. It was anyway time for us to leave and with a last fleeting glimpse of the scared leopardess ( as we were told later) atop the tree, our safari had a fitting finale and a total recompense for the patchy sighting of tigers.

SCARED LEOPARDESS ON TREE TOP

Shall I say, I am pleased as Pench!